Bad light saves England in tense Test

Their finest rearguard action since the Old Trafford Test against South Africa in 1998 enabled England to draw in Galle, their final pair Ashley Giles and Matthew Hoggard denying Muralitharan a 12th wicket in the match as the umpires offered them the light with the score on 210 for nine - 113 runs short of victory - with four overs remaining.

England now go to Kandy for Wednesday's second Test in good spirits. They will feel confident of winning there and at Colombo, the venue for the third Test, after victories at both grounds in 2001. The tourists will also be encouraged by the possible return from injury of seamer James Anderson.

However, the pressure will be on home captain Hashan Tillekeratne, who has yet to taste victory in his six Tests in charge. He will probably look back with regret at the cautious nature of his side's batting on Friday.

It was a heroic effort in particular from Giles. He has remodelled his action and it failed to produce instant dividends in Bangladesh, but he took eight wickets in this Test and his 17 not out from 111 balls yesterday was a fine effort. England captain Michael Vaughan said: "I'm very proud of my team. To lose the toss on this pitch and fight for five days is an exceptional effort. It was pretty nervous in the dressing room, but Ashley had a fantastic game and there were some fantastic performances throughout. We showed great character."

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Mark Butcher, with his second half-century of the match, and debutant Paul Collingwood, with 36, showed the way for the tail-enders, Chris Read, Gareth Batty, Giles, Richard Johnson and Hoggard, who all played a part in the great escape. England had three wickets intact going into the final session after Collingwood departed but Batty and Giles held firm for 47 minutes.

Batty then succumbed to a moment of madness against Muralitharan but Johnson showed there is more to his batting than just slogging as he blocked out 35 balls. Hoggard survived seven nerve-jangling deliveries from Muralitharan before the umpires gave England the news they had been desperate to hear. Several more lbw decisions could have gone Muralitharan's way, but he said: "It was a good performance by England. It is frustrating not to win but it is OK because there are another two games to go."